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• Telecom power company Viom Networks is trying to leverage its existing infrastructure for providing universal education, financial inclusion, telecom services, healthcare, e-Governance facilities and other related services to the rural population with its "Power of Tower" concept which has been initiated with its first outlet in Gurgaon's sector 35 providing financial services."There is a huge migrant population working in the factories of Gurgaon who need to transfer money to their people in interior areas but many do not even have bank accounts. So we have started our first ATM outlet in Sector 35, 39 km on the Delhi-Jaipur highway where we provide a no frills account on behalf of the State Bank of India (SBI) through which they can immediately transfer the money," said Umang Das, president of Viom Networks.

• "By June this year we should able to have operationally around about 11 centres including six centres around Gurgaon and five in the rest of state for financial inclusion," he added.According to Mr Das, the telecom tower - typically costing Rs 30-40 lakh - can be a potent tool for social and economic development in rural areas. "In addition to providing telecom connectivity, a tower is a very powerful piece of equipment/land where you can deliver several critical services and facilities. The tower's height, its location in rural areas, the power that it uses, the rooms that house other equipment, the space around it, can all be put to good use. We are pioneering the concept that the tower can become a utility centre and provide the basic necessities of life," he explained.

• "There are around 5 lakh workers in our area. With no bank around they have to go all the way to Badshapur (over 10km away) or other places to send money to their homes. The ATM service at the Viom tower site here has thus come as a blessing for these workers," said Ankur Bansal, who manages and controls the ATM centre at sector 35.The ATM services for SBI are being provided by Oxigen, a mobile recharge and utilities bill payment portal. Mr Bansal said 80 percent of the workers working in the area have SBI accounts.

• Banks are not able to reach out to the rural areas because they cannot create banking branches everywhere hence the banking community is trying to find out ways and means of reaching out to the rural community. The telecom towers thus can provide them the needed infrastructure.Mr Bansal said that since the launch of the ATM center in January 2012, around 300 workers have come for money transfers and around 80 workers have opened new bank accounts. "A worker who already has a SBI account can simply walk in and within in 30 seconds he gets his money transferred to his home while those who do not have an SBI account can get a new account opened in 2-3 minutes," said Mr Bansal explaining the process.

• He said that these accounts are zero balance accounts and there is no extra cost involved in opening the same. There is a connected company or dealer who receives the money of the workers at a terminal in their home towns from whom their relatives can take the cash.For his services, Mr Bansal gets commission on money transfer from Oxigen. Besides, the centre also provides mobile recharge and bill payment facilities to the workers. The ATM centre is open from 9 am to 7 30 pm Mr Das said with this new model the company is developing a new industry all together.

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